Lead Forestry Technician

Duties

**This position is Organizationally located within the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Western Region, Fort Apache Agency, Branch of Forestry & Fire.  This position reports to the Fire Management Officer (FMO) of the Fort Apache Agency.**This position serves as a Senior Firefighter. Major duties include, but are not limited to:

--Handcrew- Serves as a supervisor during initial attack fire suppression activites, locates fireline, directs and participates in fireline construction, backfiring and burnout operations, engine and pump operations, tree falling and holding/patrol/mop-up operations

--Prescribed Fire- Directs and performs prescribed fire operations including preparation, ignition, monitoring, holding, and mop-up. Monitors fire behavior, fire effects, and fire weather on prescribed fires and wildland fire use

--Wildland Fire Engine- Directs the operation of a wildland fire engine, ensuring the correct positioning, proper use and operation. Personnally performs and directs others in starting the pump engine, priming pump, adjusting engine speed and pump valves, laying hose, and using appropriate nozzles and nozzle adjustment in effective use of water additives

--Helitack- Supervises the fire suppression efforts of the helicopter module. Directs the loading of helicopter personnel and cargo considering the weight and balance, securing cargo, etc. Completes manifests of personnel and equipment being transported to the fire or other work sites

Qualifications

Applicants must meet the following requirements in order to be considered for this position. 

 GS-5: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-4 grade level OR 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to forestry, agriculture, crop or plant science, range management or conservation, wildlife management, watershed management, soil science, natural resources (except marine fisheries and oceanography), outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering or wildland fire science. No more than 3 semester hours in mathematics is creditable.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: 

Forestry aid or technician work.

Engineering, range, or soil conservation technician work that involved the application of cultural, resource conservation, or land management practices on non-forest or ranch lands when combined with knowledge of forestry operations and equipment.

Farming or ranching work that involved application of cultural and soil and water conservation practices, including safety and use of equipment, and that provided a basic understanding of land use.

Forest or range fire control, prevention, or suppression work.

GS-4:  6 months of general experience and 6 months of specialized experience OR 2 years above high school with courses related to forestry, agriculture, crop or plant science, range management or conservation, wildlife management, watershed management, soil science, natural resources (except marine fisheries and oceanography), outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering or wildland fire science. No more than 3 semester hours in mathematics is creditable.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: A season of experience is considered to be a period of no less than 3 months of continuous employment on a seasonal basis. Shorter periods may be combined to make a season, provided a total of at least 3 months' experience is shown. For any period where the work exceeded 3 months, the excess work is credited towards an additional season of experience.  2 seasons of experience qualify for GS-3; and 4 seasons of experience qualify for GS-4.  Examples of qualifying Specialized experience include:

Forestry aid or technician work.

Engineering, range, or soil conservation technician work that involved the application of cultural, resource conservation, or land management practices on non-forest or ranch lands when combined with knowledge of forestry operations and equipment.

Farming or ranching work that involved application of cultural and soil and water conservation practices, including safety and use of equipment, and that provided a basic understanding of land use.

Forest or range fire control, prevention, or suppression work.

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EDUCATION AND TRAINING

For GS-5: Successful completion of 4 years (120 semester hours) of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to forestry, agriculture, crop or plant science, range management or conservation, wildlife management, watershed management, soil science, natural resources (except marine fisheries and oceanography), outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering or wildland fire science. No more than 3 semester hours in mathematics is creditable.

For GS-4: Successful completion of 2 years (60 semester hours) of study above high school that included at least 12 semester hours in any combination of courses such as forestry, agriculture, crop or plant science, range management or conservation, wildlife management, watershed management, soil science, natural resources (except marine fisheries and oceanography), outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering, or wildland fire science. No more than 3 semester hours in mathematics is creditable

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COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION

For GS-5: Only education (related to the subject matter) in excess of the first 60 semester hours is credible toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Convert the education to a percentage by dividing the amount of credits by 60. Convert the experience to a percentage by taking the total months and dividing them by 12. Combine both the percentages and it must equal at least 100%.

For GS-4: Only education (related to the subject matter) above high school from an accredited college is credible toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Convert the education to a percentage by dividing the amount of credits by 60. Convert the experience to a percentage by taking the total months and dividing them by 12. Combine both the percentages and it must equal at least 100%.

Selective Factors:

The applicant must have possessed all of the following National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) incident management qualifications and training requirements to be considered eligible for this position:

1. primary core qualification: Firefighter Type 1 (FFT1)

2. additional required training: S-290 "Intermediate Fire Behavior 

Selectees for IFPM positions requiring currency will be required to obtain and maintain currency for the NWCG qualifications listed above

NOTE:  If you are not in the series for which applying, your application package must show evidence of meeting the OPM Qualification Standards; i.e., required course work (transcript/listing of courses); specialized experience; etc.

Part-Time or Unpaid Experience: Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience regardless of whether compensation was received or whether the experience was gained in a part-time or full-time occupation. Full-time work is generally considered to be 35 to 40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Education

To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts with your name, school name, credit hours, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking.  If transcripts are not included in your application package, education will not be credited. Transcripts do not need to be official but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify then you will need to provide official transcripts before you enter on duty.xml:namespace prefix = o /

Evaluation of Foreign Education: Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation upon request. Failure to provide such documentation when requested will result in lost consideration.